Pawlenty also appears to try and differentiate himself from the other potential GOP candidates, think Romney, as he explains his appeal beyond Republican base voters.

"When people say, 'Oh you Republicans, you know, you don't understand us, you haven't walked in our shoes, you don't know what its like to worry about whether you can afford gas for your car, whether you are going to have health care, whether you can even get to college or pay your tuition for college," Pawlenty says. "I can look them right in the eye and say, 'Yes I have. I've walked exactly in those shoes. I've lived that life and so I can relate to them with some credibility that at least allows me to make the case from a conservative standpoint of why our ideas, our values, our principles are better for their hopes and dreams.'"

Hey Ho! Just logging onto Ben Smith's blog to see what the latest JournOList talking point is. Looks like JournOList is now trying to imply that the "Republican base voters" as just a bunch of fringe kooks. Of course the JournOList would never make the same implication of the Democrat base.

Hmmm...turns out the JournOList was even more corrupt than we first thought. Not only did a bunch of libs get together to try and drive the news, they also had lib Dem officials on the server providing "input" to their "discussion" Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/29/political-operatives-on-journolist-worked-to-shape-news-coverage/#ixzz0v4pTT3f3

Posted By: Hmmm...turns out the JournOList was even more corrupt than we first thought. Not only did a bunch o | July 29, 2010 at 05:55 PM

"T-Paw" seems to just be another media darling. He barely won in 2002 or 2006 thanks to third party candidates. He spent several years in office only focused on yelling about gay marriage. Throughout his run as governor, in spite of his efforts, or because of them, Republicans did not carry the state on a Presidential level (in spite of tons of hype from the press in 2004 saying this might happen), they lost two Senate seats, tons of seats in the state legislature, and a Congressional seat.

Pawlenty has done a terrible job in MN and will not win the state if he runs for president. He is nothing but an extreme partisan who will not compromise lest it dent his conservative credentials. No matter what the thing that comes first is Pawlenty's much sought-after political career -- not the state he is supposed to be governing for the good of the people. He has accomplished nothing for MN and has pushed all the budget deficit problems down the road for the next governor to deal with. Not a good choice for a presidential nominee.

Posted By: We've had enough of him in MN and trust me -- you don't want him | July 29, 2010 at 06:43 PM

HEY tpaw just wana say this YOUR BORING! I would rather watch grass grow.Please realize you cant even excite a starving field mouse,if you threw it in a cheeze factory! Please stop wasting peoples time and seek out an administrative job,with one of the top 5,real 2012 contenders!

I love how the right wing nuts come on and slam Ben without pausing to even notice that Jonathan is filling in for him.
As for me, I find the Lincoln blip in the video to be quite rich. Lincoln, who used federal power to free the slaves and reunite the Union, would not recognize the Republican Party of today, a party which is all about states' rights, Southern power, and (a la Rick Perry) even speaks of secession when they childishly can't get their way. This isn't the party of Lincoln, it's the party of Strom Thurmond.

Looks like someone is trying to lower the bar for himself. He is effectively saying that policy, competence, and intelligence are not important and that we should elect another president based on personality alone. What a tool!

It is impossible to deny that the Democratic Party has its own racist past. But just like the Republicans, times have changed for the Democrats as well. What was the Southern, states rights, pro-segregation party after the Civil War morphed into the more Northern, federalist, civil rights activist party of today. That Byrd himself changed along with his party is not surprising. It does not excuse his Klan past. The modern Democratic Party has its racial issues even now, Lord knows, but it is far more attuned to Lincoln's ideals than is the current Republican Party. To be fair it was equally absurd in the Clinton years when the Dems claimed to be the party of Jefferson. The Republicans are far more Jeffersonian, mostly to their good.